Not Special
by Feline Fantastic
Summary: Jenna Juliet Jones never thought she was anything important. She was just a normal San Francisco girl, and an unpopular one at that. But, as always, Hogwarts is determined to prove her wrong. And then there's this cat, too... (All OC. Rated T for violence later on.)
1. Re: Owls

It was a normalish kind of day for pretty much everyone in Room Eight. The electric fan buzzed mindlessly and infuriatingly in the back of the room. Ever since Amy had dropped her Science book on top of it last year, it had made a noise like a bee buzzing very close to your ear. It was so mind-numbing, in fact, that most of the time nobody wanted it on. But today, nobody wanted it off. Why?

Because it was _hot_.

The heat was off the charts. Nobody understood it, either- San Francisco just didn't get to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. It just didn't happen. Fog City liked to keep itself wrapped in a nice, cozy blanket of chilly sea mist. To have it burned all away by the merciless sun was simply too much to handle for most of its inhabitants. So they broke out the pairs of shorts and the flip-flops and the spaghetti-strap tops and such and fled to the beach for safety, or the pool, or the ice cream shop, or at least somewhere with adequate air conditioning. But not Jenna.

No, not Jennifer Juliet Jones, not Jenna, oh no, nearly the end of the school year and she still had to sit in a _stupid_ classroom with all the _stupid_ windows closed and that _stupid _fan blowing all her papers off her desk every other minute. And she had to wear a _skirt._ And she _hated_ nobody asked her opinion, because they were all much too busy passing notes to notice her sweltering and squirming in the back of the class.

"I hate school," muttered Jenna to nobody in particular.

It hadn't always been this bad. Once upon a time, Jenna had had a best friend named Kim. She was smart and pretty and had long red hair and green eyes, and she had always looked like she had some kind of sly little trick up her sleeve. The pair had spent long evenings planning pranks to play on the more annoying boys, watching mystery shows, and coming up with ways to make life more fun. They had even started their own detective agency, way back in third grade. They called it the Fox and the Hound, like the old Disney movie. Kim was the Fox and Jenna was the Hound. Even though they never got any cases, they had loads of fun playing detectives, complete with the odd hats and magnifying glasses, and striding around saying detective-y sounding things like "elementary" and "aha!". "Hound" hadn't really stuck to Jenna, but "Fox" had stuck to Kim like glue and had eventually become her permanent nickname.

But last year, Kim and her family had moved to England and left Jenna all by herself in a class full of people she actually didn't know that well, despite having gone to school with them for five years. They still talked through email, but it just wasn't the same.

Jenna sighed loudly and realized that she had been doodling a cat in her notebook. She smiled at the drawing. Here was something to do, at last! She hunched over the page and set to work.

Fifteen minutes later, Jenna had a very detailed drawing of a cat and nothing to do again. She stared absently out the classroom window. The sun roasted the asphalt outside to the point of possibly egg-frying heat. It also roasted the telephone wires, until the black casing on the outside got so hot that the birds didn't want to sit on them anymore. Normally there were at least ten pigeons sitting outside the window, but today the wire was empty save for an... owl?

Jenna looked at the owl in amazement.

The owl stared back at her.

"There's an owl," murmured Jenna, amazed. "There is an _owl_ outside, in broad daylight, on a telephone wire, and it's staring at me."

She blinked.

The owl continued to stare.

"Hoo," said the owl.

"Um," said Jenna. She raised her hand. "Mr. Stelton?"

"Yes, Jennifer?"

"There's an owl..."

Mr. Stelton looked up from the textbook he was reading out of. "Nonsense. Owls do not fly during the day, because they are- Class?"

"Nocturnal," chorused the rest of the class in a bored monotone.

Jenna looked back at the owl, wanting to point it out, but it was gone.

…...

As soon as Jenna got home, she threw her backpack onto the bed with very unnecessary force and slumped into her chair. She was exhausted. She flipped open her laptop and began to type.

_To: kim-hart_

_From: jjjones _

_Subject:_

Jenna paused. What was interesting enough about today that she could tell it to Fox?

_Subject: Owls_

_Hey Fox,_

_How was school 2day? I bet ur school is way more interesting thn mine. It's even more boring now that ur gone. Today in Sci a big owl was outside, though. That's weird, right? Owls r supposed to sleep during the day, rnt they?_

_Plz email me back._

_-Jenna_

Jenna yawned and clicked "send". She was really tired. Maybe the heat made her sleepy. Maybe she should just take... a quick nap...

She was out before she even finished the thought.

Twenty or so minutes later, Jenna woke up to a very impatient tapping sound.

_I bet that's Mom, _she thought, _coming to see if I'm doing homework._

"I'm asleep!" called Jenna. "Please leave a message after the beep. _Beeeeeep._"

The tapping noise didn't stop.

Jenna cautiously opened one eye.

The noise wasn't coming from her door, it was coming from her window, where a large owl was tapping on it with its beak.

"Aaah!" said Jenna.

"Hoo," said the owl, looking rather pleased that it had managed to wake her up.

Not knowing what else to do, Jenna walked to the window and opened it. The owl hopped into her room and deposited a letter on her bed before promptly flying out again. The letter was addressed in green ink. It had a wax seal and it looked dreadfully important. It read:

_Miss J. Jones_

_The Attic Room_

_1541 Willow Ave, San Francisco, California_

Jenna looked at the letter. She shrugged to nobody and picked it up. At the same time, her laptop made a _bing_ noise.

_From: kim-hart_

_To: jjjones _

_Subject: Re: Owls_

_Have you got your letter yet?_


	2. Pyewacket Says Hello

Jenna automatically glanced at her computer. The _bing _noise meant that she had an email from Fox. That was always, always, _always_ a good thing. She checked it.

"Have I got my letter yet?" mumbled Jenna under her breath. Oh! That made sense- Fox must have sent this.

_Bing._

_From: kim-hart  
To: jjjones  
Subject: Re: Owls_

_CALL ME NOW! WE NEED TO TALK!_

Jenna put the letter on her bed and went to go get the phone. She grabbed it and went back upstairs to her room, where she was surprised to find her cat, Pyewacket, chewing on the corner of the letter. He looked up at her. His golden eyes flashed dangerously.

"Pye! Off! Shoo!" scolded Jenna, snatching the letter away. "That's mine, you crazy cat!"

Pyewacket purred happily and bumped his head against Jenna's arm. Jenna laughed. Then she dialed Fox's number.

"Hey!" Fox's voice appeared on the end of the line after the third ring. "Jen?"

"Hi, Fox." Jenna laughed. Fox had only been in England for about a year, but she already had a slight British accent. "Wha-"

"Good!" barked Fox. "You got a letter, right? It has a parchment envelope, green ink, purple wax seal, yeah?"

"Yeah." said Jenna. "Did you sen-"

"No. But I got one, too! You have to open it, and read it, and stuff, because it seems really important. It's all about some school. Remember how you said your school was boring? Well, this is a magic school! And I love magic! Do you think we could be witches, Jen?"

"Umm..."

"Oh, JUST OPEN IT ALREADY! Do it NOW, NOW, NOW!"

"Okay." said Jenna. She picked up the letter (she had to stretch, because Pye was sitting on her lap), ripped the top open, and read it out loud into the phone.

"Dear Miss Jones, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed-"

Fox made a screechy noise. "That's what mine said too! Same! And then there's this list thing. And It's SO BRILLIANT! Do you think it's real? What if it's real!?"

"Fox," said Jenna. "This talks about my _cat._"

"-And it's gonna be so cool and you have to come to London _now _and- Wait, what?"

Jenna read, "Please inform Mr. Pyewacket Alexander that his assistance is _mandatory. _No exceptions."

Jenna could've sworn she heard Pye snort.

"Ummm. Fox?... I..." Jenna shook her head. What in the world was this about? Then it suddenly dawned on her: This was completely crazy and weird, but it was also _a chance to go visit Fox in London! _

_"_Fox!" she said. "D'you think I can come to your house?"

"Sure! Absolutely! Definitely! No question!" cheered Fox.

"Okay. So... How do I convince my parents?" moaned Jenna. "How will that work out?"

"Go ask!"

Jenna sighed and set the phone on her bed. Then she walked downstairs to the living room, where her mom was making dinner. Pye followed her, walking figure-eights around her legs until she almost tripped.

"Mom," said Jenna, almost jokingly, "can I go visit Fox in London tomorrow?"

"What, love?" said Jenna's mom, turning around.

Pyewacket sat in front of Jenna and bored into her mom with his eyes.

"Can I go visit Fox in London tomorrow?"

"Sure," said Jenna's mom, cheerfully, "when do you want to leave? Tomorrow? Is that okay?"

"...What?" said Jenna.

"You better start packing," said Jenna's mom.

Pye stopped staring.

Jenna slowly walked upstairs to the phone.

"Fox," said Jenna, disbelievingly, "I think I can go."

Pyewacket gave a very satisfied _mrrw _and lay down on her bed.

oO0Oo

The next morning, Jenna stood in her room with a suitcase, an airplane ticket, and a very abnormal shopping list. She blinked at Pyewacket.

"I'm supposed to find all this stuff in _London._" muttered Jenna. "What am I even _doing?_" She flopped backwards on her bed. "I'm going to _London! _For no real reason other than to find out more stuff about this school for magic-users, and I just decided this yesterday! And I don't have a car, or even a stupid cell phone! I'm thirteen, Pye!"

"Thirteen is perfectly fine."

"Yeah, thanks. You're not even five yet. How do you know?"

"Excuse me! I'm_ fifteen_!"

"Yeah, right. Fifteen is really old for a cat. You aren't old."

"No, really, I _am_ fifteen. Look good for it, too, don't I?"

"You talk." Jenna didn't look up. She was going to London; nothing could surprise her now.

"I do more than that."

"How do you _talk_? You're a cat."

"Most of the time. I really would look up if I were you."

Jenna looked up, fully expecting to see Pyewacket giving her his you're-being-very-slow face. Which is exactly what she saw, if you took that face and plastered it onto the face of a fifteen-year-old boy.

Sitting cross-legged on her bed was a boy with messy hair the exact same jet-black as Pye's fur. He had a black long-sleeve t-shirt and black jeans and looked perfectly normal.

Except he had golden slit-eyes, just like Pye, and a black tail, and jet-black cat ears sticking up at the top of his head.

"Hello," he said, cheerfully. "Ready for school?"


	3. Farewell, Fog City

**A/N: Hi! I'm just wondering, but lately I'm seeing way more views than reviews. What's with that? Review, please, people! It really helps me improve. Also, if you have questions about anything, I will answer them. (Just like Pye, haha.)  
Anyway... On with the story!**

"Okay." Pye cocked his ears. "You have questions, obviously. Shoot."

"Um." said Jenna. She thought she was probably either dreaming or going insane. This was the coolest and weirdest thing that had ever happened to her. She decided to go with it. "What's Hogwarts? Is it real?"

"Yeah. School of magic. It's fine. Some people there are stupid annoying jerks, though, _mrow._" He sighed. "Don't worry. You'll do fine."

"Okay. It's a real school of magic. That's cool." Jenna was in a daze. Part of her was mentally slapping the other part and telling it to wake up. "Are you my cat?"

"Um. Yes."

"Really? But you're a human! You must be playing some kind of trick on me!"

Pye blinked at her. His golden cat-eyes were obviously the ones she had been seeing for three years. His tail twitched behind his back in a nonchalant sort of way. "I can switch back and forth. I know it's crazy, but things will get a lot crazier, so deal with it."

"What happened, then? How does this work?"

Pye suddenly looked embarrassed. If he was a cat still, he would have started to wash. "Ahh, um, long story. Faulty Animagus spell, near-fatal injuries, human bit mostly died, cat bit sorta, _mrow, _saved it. Or something. I don't even get it myself, okay? Not going into details." He blushed. "Anyway, I got kicked out of Hogwarts, and I didn't really have anyplace to go, so I got out of there. "There" being England. I came to the US. I guess I was running away. Then I catted it for a while - _long _while - here, at your place. You found me in the park, right?" Grinning, Pye leaned back against the pillows, pleased with his story-telling skils. "And you know the rest."

Jenna allowed herself to smile a little. "You went to Hogwarts, too?"

"For a year, _mrrow._"

Jenna suddenly remembered something. The letter! It had said that Pye's assistance was "mandatory". He definitely knew what was going on more than she did. Maybe he was supposed to show her where to go and stuff. And where to get all these crazy school supplies. Although, how was she supposed to fit him on the airplane now? She didn't have a ticket for him...

Wait- The _airplane! _They had to go hurry and catch it!

"Pye! We have to get out of here! We'll miss our flight!" Jenna dove into her closet and came out with a red knit beanie. She threw it at Pye. It hit him in the face and he yelped. "Wear that!" Jenna commanded.

"But-"

"_Wear it!"_

Pye crammed the hat over his ears, grumbling. He winced. "Do you have any idea how _uncomfortable _this is?"

"I don't care!" yelled Jenna. She held up the cat carrier menacingly. "You said you can switch, right? It's that or the _Go Pet._ Pick one."

"Hat." grumbled Pye. His tail twitched furiously. "I am never going in that thing ever again."

"Yes you are." said Jenna. "We don't have a plane ticket for you. You'll have to be my carry on." She paused at the door and added, as an afterthought, "Tuck your tail in, too. We don't want you scaring everybody on BART."

Pye growled something unintelligible and followed her down the stairs.

oO0Oo

About 45 minutes later, Pye and Jenna were arguing in the airport.

"There is no way I'm getting in that _jail cell._" growled Pye. "You can't make me."

"You have to!" retorted Jenna. "Or else we won't be allowed on the airplane!"

"I could just swipe someone's ticket..."

_"NO!"_

This conversation went on for at least five more minutes before Jenna had an epiphany. She reached into the pocket on the _Go Pet _and found a plastic bag full of cat treats. She grinned wickedly and tossed a few into the carrier.

Pye stared at them. Then, within the space of two seconds, he morphed into Jenna's familiar black cat and pounced in after them. Jenna picked up the carrier to the sound of much noisy crunching and zipped the front flap shut. Pyewacket seemed to suddenly realize what was going on and dove for the exit, but it was too late. He was trapped inside. Defeated, he curled up into a little ball in the corner.

Jenna slung the carrier over her shoulder. "Works when you're a cat," she teased, "works when you're a human." She trotted to the baggage check to a chorus of angry growling noises.

It didn't take long to check her suitcase, and her flight was late, so Jenna bought herself a teriyaki bowl and sat in the terminal. Pye had mostly calmed down by now, so she fed him little pieces of chicken through an opening in the zipper and watched the airplanes land. As he licked the last bits of teriyaki sauce off her fingers, Jenna reflected, "You know, Pye, my life will probably never be the same, huh?"

Pye _mrrw_ed agreement.

"I guess that's just how life works."

The intercom crackled to life. "_Will all passengers for Flight 221 to London please go to Gate B. Your airplane is now boarding."_

Jenna stood up, gathered her things, and boarded her plane.


End file.
